World No.1 Iga Swiatek won her first grass-court match of the season after coming back to defeat 2022 Wimbledon semifinalist Tatjana Maria 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round of the Bad Homburg Open. The victory is Swiatek's eighth consecutive win and moves her season record to a tour-leading 36-6.
Swiatek will play Switzerland's Jil Teichmann in the second round.
Match notes: In her first competitive appearance since winning her second Roland Garros title two weeks ago, Swiatek was made to work in her Bad Homburg debut. After earning a break advantage early in the opening set to serve at 4-3, 40-30, Swiatek lost her rhythm to give Maria a foothold in the match. Three consecutive unforced errors allowed Maria to level the set at 4-4, and the German mother of two held her serve with ease to lead 5-4.
Using her backhand slice with tactical efficiency, Maria continued to flummox Swiatek, drawing errors from the World No.1. She broke Swiatek for a second time to seal the opening set.
Swiatek has been open about her learning curve on grass. Despite winning the Wimbledon girl's title in 2018, grass remains the only surface on which she has yet to win a Hologic WTA Tour title. Wimbledon is the only major at which she has yet to make it past the Round of 16.
Given the opportunity to doubt her game after losing the first set, Swiatek responded by losing just two games for the rest of the match.
"She has a different game style and at the beginning it was tricky," Swiatek said. "But I'm pretty glad that I figured it out because I guess problem-solving on grass is the most important thing.
"So I really just wanted to look forward and thank what I could change. I know I have the game for that. I just had to find it a little bit."
Turning point: Swiatek opened the second set by winning the first nine points, building a 2-0 lead that she would not relinquish. Her improved aggression paid off quickly, as she won 31 of the 46 points in the second set to force a decider. That momentum continued in the third, where she won 25 of the 35 points played to dish out her third-ever 6-0 set on grass.
Key stats: Despite losing the opening set, Swiatek served 82 percent of first serves in. She did not face a break point in the second and third sets.
The match was just her sixth three-set match of the season. She is now 4-2 in third sets this season. Her 6-0 final set is her 15th of the year.
Next up: Swiatek will face Teichmann for a second time in their careers. The Swiss advanced after a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Claire Liu in the first round. Swiatek won their first meeting 6-3, 6-2 en route to the 2021 Adelaide title. A victory would boost Swiatek into her first tour-level quarterfinal on grass.
A very solid first grass win of the season. You can already see huge improvements compared to last year.
Iga is learning to problem solve instead of just fighting. Very impressive serve as well.
And good mental toughness coming from a set down on her least favourite surface.
Pluses all around.
On to the next one. Jazda!
No comments:
Post a Comment